The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) called on passengers unhappy about ticket prices for flights between Taipei Songshan Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao Airport to take into consideration the value of direct flight services.
The CAA made the statement one day after the Songshan-Hongqiao service was launched because a number of passengers have said that ticket prices for cross-strait flights should be cheaper because the reduced travel distance helps airline companies save on fuel costs.
FACTORS
“Airlines mainly take into account supply and demand, competition in the market, operational costs, the frequency of the flights and the cost of living when they determine the price of a flight service. Travel distance is not the only factor,” the CAA said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Certain commentators used the travel distance as the only criterion to judge whether prices are reasonable, while ignoring the value of direct flight services,” it said. “They should consider all the factors that affect ticket prices before making comments.”
DEMAND
The CAA said passengers mainly complained about ticket prices to Shanghai and other popular cities in China. The prices remain high because flight services are still restricted by the cross-strait agreement and cannot meet demand, the statement said.
Citing airlines in Hong Kong as an example, the CAA said there were 70 weekly flights between Hong Kong and Beijing, five times more than between Taiwan and Beijing.
A total of 112 flights are offered each week between Hong Kong and Shanghai, which is 2.7 times more than between Taiwan and Shanghai, the CAA said.
The CAA said it would negotiate for more flights. With the addition of 50 cross-strait flights, the CAA said it would talk with airlines about the possibility of reducing ticket prices to meet public expectations.
EXTENDED
In other news, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said it had extended the job application deadline for the position of a general manager at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Co from today to Friday next week.
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Co is scheduled to be established in November and is key to the nation’s Airport Zone Project.
So far, only one person has applied, the ministry said.
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